Occurrence and spread of Ceroplastes cirripediformis Comstock (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha: Coccidae) in India.

The notoriously destructive and invasive soft scale, Ceroplastes cirripediformis Comstock (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha: Coccidae), is recorded for the first time from India. The scale is redescribed to facilitate its identification and information on its host range, natural enemies and distribution is provided. An identification key to the Indian species in this genus is given.

Engineering Nanostructures by Decorating Magnetic Nanoparticles onto Graphene Oxide Sheets to Shield Electromagnetic Radiations.

In this study, a minimum reflection loss of -70 dB was achieved for a 6 mm thick shield (at 17.1 GHz frequency) employing a unique approach. This was accomplished by engineering nanostructures through decoration of magnetic nanoparticles (nickel, Ni) onto graphene oxide (GO) sheets.

Viscoelastic behavior of human lamin A proteins in the context of dilated cardiomyopathy.

Lamins are intermediate filament proteins of type V constituting a nuclear lamina or filamentous meshwork which lines the nucleoplasmic side of the inner nuclear membrane. This protein mesh provides a supporting scaffold for the nuclear envelope and tethers interphase chromosome to the nuclear periphery. Mutations of mainly A-type lamins are found to be causative for at least 11 human diseases collectively termed as laminopathies majority of which are characterised by aberrant nuclei with altered structural rigidity, deformability and poor mechanotransduction behaviour.

Single-file diffusion of confined water inside SWNTs: an NMR study.

We report a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) study of confined water inside approximately 1.4 nm diameter single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs). We show that the confined water does not freeze even up to 223 K.

Strongly anisotropic orientational relaxation of water molecules in narrow carbon nanotubes and nanorings.

Molecular dynamics simulations of the orientational dynamics of water molecules confined in narrow carbon nanotubes and nanorings reveal that confinement leads to strong anisotropy in the orientational relaxation. The relaxation of the aligned dipole moments, occurring on a time scale of nanoseconds, is 3 orders of magnitude slower than that of bulk water. In contrast, the relaxation of the vector joining the two hydrogens is ten times faster compared to bulk, with a time scale of about 150 fs.

Detection of optical and mechanical property inhomogeneities in tissue mimicking phantoms using an ultrasound assisted optical probe.

We discuss the issue of separating contributions from mechanical and optical properties of a moderately scattering tissue phantom to the modulation depth (M) of intensity autocorrelation measured in an ultrasound-assisted optical tomography system using axial and transverse illuminations. For axial illumination, M is affected by both the displacement and absorption coefficient, more prominently by displacement. But transverse illumination has very little contribution from displacement of scattering centers.

Binding of DNA nucleobases and nucleosides with graphene.

Interaction of two different samples of graphene with DNA nucleobases and nucleosides is investigated by isothermal titration calorimetry. The relative interaction energies of the nucleobases decrease in the order guanine (G)>adenine (A)>cytosine (C)>thymine (T) in aqueous solutions, although the positions of C and T seem to be interchangeable. The same trend is found with the nucleosides.

Electric field-enhanced sensitivity of grafted ligands and receptors.

Background: Particle-based agglutination tests consisting of receptors grafted to colloidal microparticles are useful for detecting small quantities of corresponding ligands of interest in fluid test samples, but detection limits of such tests are limited to a certain concentration and it is most desirable to lower the detection limits and to enhance the rate of recognition of ligands.

Methods: A mixture of receptor-coated colloidal microparticles and corresponding ligand was sandwiched between 2 indium tin oxide-coated glass plates. Electrohydrodynamic drag from an alternating-current electric field applied perpendicular to the plates increased the local concentration of the colloidal particles, improving the chances of ligand-receptor interaction and leading to the aggregation of the colloidal particles.

Measurement of visco-elastic properties of breast-tissue mimicking materials using diffusing wave spectroscopy.

Diffusing wave spectroscopy (DWS), without the use of tracer particles, has been used to study the internal dynamics of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) phantoms, which mimic the properties of normal and malignant breast tissues. From the measured intensity autocorrelations, the mean square displacement (MSD) of phantom meshing is estimated, leading to the storage and loss moduli of the medium covering frequencies up to 10 KHz. These are verified with independent measurements from a dynamic mechanical analyzer (DMA) at low frequencies.

Mechanical property assessment of tissue-mimicking phantoms using remote palpation and optical read-out for amplitude of vibration and refractive index modulation.

A coherent light beam is used to interrogate the focal region within a tissue-mimicking phantom insonified by an ultrasound transducer. The ultrasound-tagged photons exiting from the object carry with them information on local optical path length fluctuations caused by refractive index variations and medium vibration. Through estimation of the force distribution in the focal region of the ultrasound transducer, and solving the forward elastography problem for amplitude of vibration of tissue particles, we observe that the amplitude is directed along the axis of the transducer.